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Abstract:

A heating device for the vehicle interior of a vehicle is configured in
the form of an infrared (IR) radiator with a textile-based heating band
arranged, in a reflector housing. The textile-based heating band is made
of a mixed yarn of basalt and stainless steel. Such a heating device can
be installed in a footwell of a vehicle.

Claims:

1.-6. (canceled)

7. A heating device for a vehicle interior of a vehicle, wherein the
heating device is configured as an IR radiator comprising a reflector
housing and a textile-based heating band arranged in the reflector
housing.

8. The heating device of claim 7, wherein the textile-based heating band
is made of a mixed yarn of basalt and stainless steel.

9. The heating device of claim 8, wherein the mixed yarn of basalt and
stainless steel is made of a basalt multifilament having a fineness
between 50 and 100 tex, and a stainless steel fiber with a diameter of
0.02 mm to 0.05 mm.

10. The heating device of claim 9, wherein the fineness is 68 tex.

11. The heating device of claim 9, wherein the diameter of the stainless
steel fiber is 0.035 mm.

12. The heating device of claim 7, wherein the reflector housing has a
parabolic cross section, and further comprising a heating element carrier
accommodated in the reflector housing, said textile heating band being
arranged on the heating element carrier.

13. The heating device of claim 7, further comprising a protective grid
covering the reflector housing.

14. A vehicle, comprising: a footwell; and a heating device configured as
an IR radiator comprising a reflector housing and a textile-based heating
band arranged in the reflector housing.

15. The vehicle of claim 14, wherein the textile-based heating band is
made of a mixed yarn of basalt and stainless steel.

16. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein the mixed yarn of basalt and
stainless steel is made of a basalt multifilament having a fineness
between 50 and 100 tex, and a stainless steel fiber with a diameter of
0.02 mm to 0.05 mm.

17. The vehicle of claim 16, wherein the fineness is 68 tex.

18. The vehicle of claim 16, wherein the diameter of the stainless steel
fiber is 0.035 mm.

19. The vehicle of claim 14, wherein the reflector housing has a
parabolic cross section, said heating device including a heating element
carrier accommodated in the reflector housing, said textile heating band
being arranged on the heating element carrier.

20. The vehicle of claim 14, wherein the heating device includes a
protective grid covering the reflector housing.

Description:

[0001] The invention relates to a heating device for the vehicle interior
of a vehicle, in particular for the footwell of a vehicle, and to a
vehicle having a heating device according to the invention arranged in
the footwell.

[0002] DE 20 2006 007 548 discloses a generic heating device as foot
heating for installation into a vehicle footwell. This heater has a base
part, an electrically-operated surface heater connected to the base part,
and a connection cable connected via a control unit to the surface heater
and having an end connector for plugging into an on-board socket of a
vehicle. The base part may, hereby, be configured as a flexible mat or as
a wedge-shaped footrest.

[0003] A disadvantage of this known foot heating for a footwell of a
vehicle is that the surface heater generates predominantly only contact
heat which should be transmitted to the feet of a vehicle occupant via
such a floor mat or footrest. However, this is not always sufficient to
rapidly achieve adequate thermal comfort for a vehicle occupant.

[0004] Object of the invention is therefore to provide a heating device
for the vehicle interior of a vehicle, in particular for the footwell of
a vehicle, to rapidly realize a high thermal comfort for a vehicle
occupant and yet requiring only a small power demand.

[0005] This object is achieved by a heating device having the features of
patent claim 1.

[0006] Such a heating device for the vehicle interior of a vehicle is
characterized according to the invention in that the heating device is
configured as IR radiator formed with a textile-based heating band
arranged in a reflector housing.

[0007] Such a heating device according to the invention represents a
high-temperature IR radiator system, which provides conditions that meet
the passenger needs because of a body-near placement in the footwell of
the vehicle. This heating band represents hereby an IR (infrared) heating
fabric.

[0008] According to a configuration of the invention, the textile-based
heating band is manufactured as IR heating fabric from a mixed yarn of
basalt and stainless steel. The use of such a material results in a low
thermal inertia of the heating device according to the invention and
thereby enables a quick response behavior, i.e., heat is noticeable by a
vehicle occupant after a short time.

[0009] Preferably, the mixed yarn of basalt and stainless steel is made of
a basalt multifilament having a fineness between 50 and 100 tex,
preferably of 68 tex, and a stainless steel fiber with a diameter of 0.02
mm to 0.05 mm, preferably of 0.035 mm.

[0010] The power demand and the surface temperature of the heating band
can be adjusted via the fabric construction and the material ratio. This
makes it possible to adjust heat and radiation characteristics of the
heating device to the need at hand.

[0011] According to a further advantageous configuration of the invention,
the textile heating band is arranged on a heating element carrier, which
is received by the reflector housing with parabolic cross section. Since
the textile-based heating band can reach a temperature of up to
500° C., the reflector housing is covered by a protective grid in
accordance with a refinement of the invention. Of course, all forms of
suitable covers can be used.

[0012] This heating device according to the invention is suitable
advantageously for arrangement in a footwell of a vehicle.

[0013] An exemplary embodiment of the invention is described in greater
detail hereinafter with reference to the attached figures. It is shown
in:

[0014] FIG. 1 a schematic and perspective illustration of the structural
design of a heating device according to the invention,

[0015] FIG. 2 a sectional view of the heating device taken along section
I-I in FIG. 1, and

[0016] FIG. 3 a partial schematic representation of a heating device
according to the invention received in a footwell of a vehicle with a
vehicle occupant.

[0017] The heating device 1 according to FIG. 1 is a high-temperature IR
radiator system for the vehicle interior of a vehicle and includes a
reflector housing 2 which accommodates a heating band (IR heating fabric)
3 arranged on a heating element carrier 4 and generating the infrared
radiation. This reflector housing 2 and a protective grid 5, which covers
an open side of the radiator housing, are mounted to a support element 6.

[0018] The reflector housing 2 has an inner surface with a parabolic cross
section, so that IR rays generated by the heating band 3 exit the
reflector housing 2 as directed heat radiation in nearly perpendicular
direction to the heating band 3, as shown in FIG. 2. Such a directed IR
heat radiation heat enables an effective utilization of heat over great
distances.

[0019] FIG. 3 shows the arrangement of such a heating device 1 in a
vehicle 10 with a vehicle occupant, here a driver 12. This heating device
1 is arranged in the upper part of the footwell 11 of the driver 12.

[0020] The material of the heating band 3 includes a mixed yarn of basalt
fiber and stainless steel, which has a good temperature resistance and a
relatively high IR emissivity coefficient of 0.8. Used for this mixed
yarn of basalt fiber and stainless steel is an electrically conductive
basalt multifilament with a fineness of 68 tex and a 0.035 mm stainless
steel fiber. The stainless steel fiber is hereby wrapped with the basalt
multifilaments at a wrapping frequency of 40 wrappings/m.

[0021] With such a heating band 3 of mixed yarn of basalt fiber and
stainless steel, the heating device 1 has a low thermal inertia and thus
a rapid response behavior so that heat is noticeable to the driver 12 of
the vehicle 10 after a short time. As a result, the cold start phase is
shortened, accompanied with an increase in comfort for the driver 12.

[0022] The most essential advantage of such a heating device 1 is that no
transport medium, i.e. air, is required for the heat, but the vehicle
occupants are directly heated by the infrared radiation of such a heating
device 1. As a result of such a targeted heat transfer, thermal comfort
is significantly enhanced for the vehicle occupants, i.e. the interior
comfort is enhanced. Furthermore, the heating device 1 is characterized
in that, due to the use of mixed yarn of basalt fiber and stainless
steel, the power consumption is very low and thus in particular an
increase in efficiency in terms of energy consumption of the vehicle 10
is realized.

[0023] The heating device 1 according to the invention can, of course, not
only be arranged in the footwell of a vehicle, but is also suitable to be
arranged in other regions of the interior space of the passenger
compartment.